BD seeks increased support from China with PPE, ventilators

Chinese celebrity doc Zhang joins video conferencing

Published : Thursday, 9 April, 2020 at 12:00 AM Count : 296

Diplomatic Correspondent

Health Minister Zahid Maleque sought increased support from China as the number of coronavirus cases is rising in Bangladesh. "We need more about personal protective equipment and ventilators right at the moment," the Minister said.The Health Minister was speaking in a videoconference between health professionals from Bangladesh and China on Wednesday. Chinese
Embassy in Dhaka has arranged the conference with Dr Zhang Wenhong,
Professor and Head of the Center for Infectious Disease, Huashan
Hospital of Fudan University in Shanghai, shared his experience about
the coronavirus pandemic.The participants from six different locations exchanged their ideas and laid emphasis on international cooperation. He
also appreciated China's support to Bangladesh to fight against
COVID-19 and hoped that the relations between the two countries will be
strengthened. Taking part in the discussion, Chinese Ambassador to
Bangladesh Li Jiming laid emphasis on collective efforts saying this
virus respects no borders. "We all must work together."He said a medical team will soon be arriving in Bangladesh to help deal with the current situation. Ambassador Jiming said he has every confidence that Bangladesh will win in this battle against coronavirus. As
the Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine of Fudan University in
Shanghai, Dr Zhang is the leader of Shanghai's Anti-COVID-19 clinical
expert team. He has extensive experience with the diagnosis and
treatment of various emerging infectious diseases, according to Chinese
Embassy in Dhaka. Dr Zhang is a graduate of Shanghai Medical
University and has held visiting scholar and postdoctoral fellow
positions at the Department of Microbiology at the University of Hong
Kong, Harvard Medical School and Illinois State University at Chicago.He
has gained tens of millions of followers on social media and been
dubbed "Dad Zhang" for his outspoken, down-to-earth talk about the
disease. The 51-year-old first started getting attention at the end
of January when he told media he assigned doctors who were Communist
Party members to work at a hospital on the front line of the coronavirus
outbreak in Shanghai.